Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

The Northman

This is a visually stunning film with a haunting narrative filled with brutality and heartbreaking  emotional depth that will rip your heart out! Now this film is done by Robert Eggers who truly is one of the most captivating new filmmakers that have arrived in the last couple of years. His style is so unique and he surrounds  his films around truly breathtaking environments and shows the strange and grim scope of the characters he showcases and their interesting journeys they go on. He amazed me years ago with the film the Lighthouse which is Truly one of the best films I had ever seen  and like I mentioned it’s the way he expresses style and scope that grabs your attention and that’s what made the Lighthouse so captivating. So I was very eager to see what he would do next and what I love about the Northman is it’s not your typical Viking film it feels Shakespearean in its presentation. As he likes to write his characters into such an emotional hell and push them to go on such complex self discovery adventures and that’s what he did with the Witch, The Lighthouse and now with the Northman. As I have so much to unpack with this film this is a Brutal, captivating, visually gorgeous tale that will have you totally mesmerized it’s definitely one of the years best films. 

Firstly, This film plays out like a old Shakespearean narrative and it’s so well done as it’s a classic revenge tale but with so much depth and layers. The film could of easily just been a paper thin narrative where the main character goes after who wronged him but Robert Eggers who was able to show the complex nature of this person and the pure sadness and trauma he’s gone through and slowly build up to that revenge tale that yes does take place but he is able to construct it in such a well done way it never feels overdone or lazy it’s actually quite beautiful the way he shows  this story onscreen. As Eggers brings the viewer into this old world of Vikings and the  main theme of this entire film at the heart of it is Family. Now their is stuff like trauma and masculinity and even finding love to help soften up emotional pain but it’s the message of family that is woven Into the story that is the heartbeat of the Northman. As from the first scene of this film it establishes the main characters strong love and bond he has with his father and how he wants to be like him and be a good man and then when he is killed he feels the need to not just avenge his father but his legacy and even though he does that in sometimes violent ways it’s all for family and underneath all the bloodshed and brutality of what we witness Robert Eggers crafts a emotional tale that captures that tone so brilliantly. As I mentioned before the underdone of masculinity is touched upon very realistically as you have a guy who’s only known revenge his whole life and when he finally comes across a woman who he not only finds attractive but feels something for it excites him because he’s known nothing but hate and she shows him how to let love into his heart and it’s so sweet to witness. The style and scope of this film is freaking massive the production scale on this is definitely the biggest Robert Eggers has ever done. But even with the big production he still focuses on the important themes of the film and the tone of this film is incredible and the look and style of it is truly jaw dropping this is narrative wise Robert Eggers most complex story he’s done so far and one of his best written films he’s done. 

Secondly, the performances in this film are incredible! So you have Alexander Skarsgard deliver one of his finest performances of his career with gritty brutality wrapped in trauma and heartbreak that will have you engaged the moment he shows up. Then theirs the talented Anya Taylor - Joy who gives truly a tender performance that will touch your heart as she brings such light into this man’s dark heart by showing him kindness and how to express love it’s truly one of her most emotionally striking performances that will have you feeling truly moved. Then lastly theirs Nicole Kidman who delivers one of her all time best performances with a truly twisted and sinister performance. Now I can’t delve to deep into her character as it’ll spoil some of the film but let’s say she goes places emotionally that we’ve never seen her go and it’s truly terrifying and theirs a scene in the film where she delivers this monologue that  will have your jaw on the floor it’s one of the best acted scenes of her entire career. Everyone In this film was great even the always fantastic Ethan Hawke who shows up for not long but for what he does have for screen time he commits 100% to and commanded the screen greatly with such a fantastic supporting performance. Everyone in this cast all gave incredible work that is truly outstanding. 

Lastly, The Northman is a masterpiece that is truly one of the years best films and Robert Eggers knocks it out of the park not just with one of the best screenplays he’s ever done but truly incredible direction as well added with a visual feast for the eyes that is so gorgeously striking with its imagery. The film tackles themes of trauma, family and legacy in a way that is so brutally honest in its presentation onscreen. It’s incredibly well acted by everyone in the cast it truly delivers on all levels and is a phenomenal film that You’ll want to watch again and again The Northman is outstanding. 

This film takes place during the era of the Vikings and when a sons father is brutally Murdered he goes on a journey to go after the man that ripped his family apart. 

Rated R : Strong Bloody Violence|Some Sexual Content|Nudity

Alexander Skarsgard : Skarsgard delivers a brutally emotional performance wrapped in masculinity! Now this actor I’ve seen in tons of films Long Shot, The Legend Of Tarzan, and so I know he has quite the range as an actor emotionally but here he plays such a complex character. He plays someone who at first speaks with his eyes and body because after his father was murdered he sharpened his body to be in shape so when he does take on the man responsible for the death of his father that he’ll be ready. He also is always seeing everything in the first act of the film he may not say much but he sure uses his eyes to convey the feeling in his heart and it’s so real and then over the course of the film he starts talking more and we get to see this man’s tortured soul slowly feel something besides death and hate as he gets to find love for the first time and we see how that Brings so much life to his soul in a way that fills his eyes with tears at one point. The way Alexander is able to show such raw emotions of this character was brilliant as by being more quiet said a lot about him right their as since the character was so traumatized by what he saw as a young kid it makes sense why he would be very emotionally disconnected and keep to himself and so to cope with the pain and loss he resorts to anger and violence  to numb that trauma in his heart that has never healed. And Skarsgard shows that window into his soul by opening more and more throughout the course of the film and you truly feel for his character as you can see that he wants to feel again and for the pain to stop and by going on this revenge path he feels that will make him whole once that goal is completed and it’s one of the most complex characters Alexander Skarsgard has ever played and he brings so much depth to him and you cannot take your eyes off of him it’s such a gripping performance by him and truly one of his most heartbreaking and emotionally raw performances he’s ever given onscreen. This is truly an outstanding performance by Alexander Skarsgard 

Robert Eggers : Robert Eggers is one of the best directors working today! His style is truly incredible and the way he writes his characters is so layered In depth and complexity. Here he takes on a big scale production with huge set pieces and he doesn’t let the flashy big set pieces drive his narrative he keeps the film at its core about this man and his tortured soul. As the themes in this film is so honest and so raw and presented in visually beautiful ways as well as you have brutality where you see the carnage and violence and then theirs also a fantastic subplot where he shows his main character go through an arc of feeling again with experiencing love. Then adding to those themes he touches upon masculinity and how it’s okay to be emotionally vulnerable as a man and it never seems preachy but it’s woven into the narrative in such a great way and then lastly he covers trauma and family in a fantastic way. As this man has been through emotional hell and he won’t rest until he kills the man responsible for taking his fathers life now he shows why this man is so heartbroken and sometimes it’s shown through dialogue sometimes its from visuals and I love how he is able to use both to express this man’s thoughts. Robert Eggers shows a big scale film but the message and themes are so intimate in the way he focuses in on the characters it’s so emotionally well told and honestly it’s one of his best written screenplays and definitely one of his best directed films and he gets such fantastic performances from his cast. I cannot wait to see what he does next as what he did with this film is truly incredible and Robert Eggers delivers once again another fantastic film with a powerfully written story and amazing direction.